'My deepest apologies': Judge offers rare apology to Umar Zameer after trial sheds new light on case
CTV
A noteably different version of events than what was first described by police and politicians came into focus over the course of Umar Zameer’s five-week murder trial in Toronto, culminating in a rare move by the presiding judge.
A noteably different version of events than what was first described by police and politicians came into focus over the course of Umar Zameer’s five-week murder trial in Toronto, culminating in a rare move by the presiding judge.
After a jury acquitted Zameer of the first-degree murder charge he faced in connection with the death of Toronto Police Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup, Justice Anne Molloy offered the 34-year-old an apology for his troubles.
“Mr. Zameer, you’re free to go, sir,” Molloy told him in the courtroom Sunday. “You have my […] deepest apologies for what you have been through.”
Northrup died on July 2, 2021 after being struck by Zameer’s BMW in the public parking lot underneath Toronto’s Nathan Phillip Square. The officer had rushed the vehicle alongside his partner, Lisa Forbes, both in plainclothes, while investigating a stabbing that had just taken place nearby, the court heard.
Zameer, with his pregnant wife and young son at the time, has always maintained he did not know the people approaching his BMW were police officers.
He attempted to escape the confrontation, first reversing his BMW and striking Northrup, before driving forward and fleeing the scene, according to evidence presented in court.
